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MineralMan

(146,317 posts) Sat Jul 9, 2016, 12:36 PM Jul 2016

174

In the auto parts store yesterday...white privilege [View all]

One of the brake lights in our second car had burned out. I didn't notice it, because I can't see it when I'm driving, and I'm almost never following it when my wife is driving. A week ago, though, I was following her and noticed it.

So, I went into the auto parts store yesterday and bought a replacement. I actually had some, but they were old style, rather than the push-in based version the PT Cruiser used. I picked up a two-pack so I could replace both, since the car had the original bulbs in it.

I took them to the counter. The guy at the cash register said, "Yeah, not a good time to have burned out tail lights."

It took me a second to realize what he was talking about, but then I remembered the police shooting of a black guy in a nearby city the other day. He was stopped for just that thing. I just nodded and paid for the bulbs, which I installed later that day. As a old guy with white privilege, it never occurred to me that a burned out brake light could pose a life-threatening risk for me if noticed by a cop. That's because it wouldn't pose such a risk for me.

I've thought about that a lot since then. It's an extremely sad commentary on our culture and society, I think. We all need to check our privilege.

67 replies

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In the auto parts store yesterday...white privilege [View all] MineralMan Jul 2016 OP

Thanks,great post. Wellstone ruled Jul 2016 #1

Thanks. It made me think. MineralMan Jul 2016 #2

But thinking is hard SCantiGOP Jul 2016 #3

Sad to say,think so many don't take the time Wellstone ruled Jul 2016 #6

More white privilige. yallerdawg Jul 2016 #4

That is just to sad. sheshe2 Jul 2016 #24

It occurrs to me. hollowdweller Jul 2016 #5

It also deprives many of their right to vote to change things. nt tblue37 Jul 2016 #11

Yah, well. I was a daily toker back in the MineralMan Jul 2016 #12

Pre Raygun mandatory sentences Go Vols Jul 2016 #54

Driving while Black Scarsdale Jul 2016 #57

And, I would suggest another difference ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #65

Yes. Exactly. MineralMan Jul 2016 #66

Well I'm all for legalization, amnesty for all those rotting in prisons now on pot convictions, and PatrickforO Jul 2016 #19

Excellent response. geardaddy Jul 2016 #49

Rape Scarsdale Jul 2016 #59

Good post. I disagree with one statement... elias7 Jul 2016 #64

Why not just pull alongside a vehicle SCVDem Jul 2016 #7

Just like the good 'ol "you were weaving" excuse. 7962 Jul 2016 #9

It'll be fixed asap? Igel Jul 2016 #42

Karma SheriffBob Jul 2016 #8

It's never a good time to have burned out tail lights. Nye Bevan Jul 2016 #10

That's true, of course. But, brake lights do burn out. MineralMan Jul 2016 #14

Taillights and jogging in a white surburb progree Jul 2016 #29

There would be 911 calls if a black person was jogging in your neighborhood? oberliner Jul 2016 #31

In this neighborhood where an elderly Indian man was walking csziggy Jul 2016 #34

wrong, the man was injured because he kept pulling away from the officers, and he frankieallen Jul 2016 #38

Wrong - they asked him where he lived, he was trying to take them there csziggy Jul 2016 #46

ok, to begin with..... frankieallen Jul 2016 #67

You live in Madison, Alabama? oberliner Jul 2016 #41

No, I live outside Tallahassee, Florida csziggy Jul 2016 #47

It only takes one person to make a 911 call(s) progree Jul 2016 #45

Yeah but I would fix my taillight to avoid the hassle and expense MH1 Jul 2016 #15

‘The Tail Light Was Not Out’ Diamond Reynolds Makes Startling Statement csziggy Jul 2016 #48

There is a report that he matched the description of a suspect in a robbery case mythology Jul 2016 #60

Yes - he resembled the suspect because he had a "wide set nose" csziggy Jul 2016 #63

And yet, when white privilege is brought up in a white crowd, PatrickforO Jul 2016 #13

That's very true. It took me some years to figure it out, too, and MineralMan Jul 2016 #16

It's encouraging to know, that even though I don't understand it now, in several years I might. egduj Jul 2016 #36

:-) frankieallen Jul 2016 #39

I think what makes it tough is that "white privilege" is really about MH1 Jul 2016 #17

Yeah. We don't notice things that aren't happening to us. MineralMan Jul 2016 #18

I know, when you tell a white person who is looking for a job and struggling to pay medical bills Nye Bevan Jul 2016 #28

The social justice vernacular isn't friendly Nevernose Jul 2016 #33

k&r uponit7771 Jul 2016 #20

Republicans have abandoned the saying, "An injury to one is an injury to all".... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2016 #21

I never noticed that they ever said that, really. MineralMan Jul 2016 #23

They really believe all they need is the white male vote. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2016 #26

Thanks MM. Scruffy1 Jul 2016 #22

No. Thank you! MineralMan Jul 2016 #25

Yeah, we do. HassleCat Jul 2016 #27

Don't matter if the light works. The Jungle 1 Jul 2016 #30

K & R most enthusiastically. Thanks for posting. Surya Gayatri Jul 2016 #32

+1 million geardaddy Jul 2016 #50

I've been thinking about this for a while LoverOfLiberty Jul 2016 #35

Yeah ... it's kind of like thinking about the "good old days" ... Jopin Klobe Jul 2016 #37

Great post brother malaise Jul 2016 #40

Thanks for posting, White people need to hear these stories loyalsister Jul 2016 #43

Hope. Yavin4 Jul 2016 #44

I learned about white privilege in 1958, when we were stationed in Cherry Point, NC, mountain grammy Jul 2016 #51

That is white privilege wallyworld2 Jul 2016 #52

Thanks for sharing. Ash_F Jul 2016 #53

We, as black people in America, can never afford the luxury... MrScorpio Jul 2016 #55

Thank you for posting that expansion of how to check one's privilege. MineralMan Jul 2016 #61

The FBI issued a warning The Wizard Jul 2016 #56

Is this about the Minn shooting? Elmergantry Jul 2016 #58

I've been thinking about my interactions with cops over the years MirrorAshes Jul 2016 #62